Well, there’s a whole BUNCH of things, especially in the midst of race season! And not just during race season. There is always something to be done around the dog yard, in any season, but prepping for races is definitely busiest.

Besides training the dogs for trekking long distances, we have to prep all the things we need for those long treks. These things include dog food, gear, and snacks, and people food, gear and snacks. Easier said than done, we can assure you! Not only knowing WHAT we need, but HOW MUCH; these are pivotal questions that dictate how we plan our races, and pack our drop bags.

Drop bags: these are the large- upwards of fifty pound- bags that we send to checkpoints during a race. As we race, we stop at checkpoints to gear up and fuel up, with the contents of drop bags.

All those little booties the dogs wear? Someone has to wrap them into bunches of 4 (one per puppy paw!). All those tug and neck lines that attach dogs to the main line? Someone has to make those and put snaps on the end. All those small pieces of fish, meat and fat the dogs eat as snacks? Someone has to cut all those up. The list goes on and on. All these small tasks add up to the big picture, which allows us to do what we love to do- run dogs!